To Be, or Not to Be — An Alumnus in the 21st Century
- ejorigin
- Jul 25, 2024
- 5 min read
Updated: Aug 17, 2025
Written by: Tay Yip Teng, Terrence (23-A2)
Designed by: Tan Shi Ying Marissa (23-O1)
Am I that old?
Picture this: You’ve just received a graduation certificate from your school or institution – the culmination of all your efforts in your field of study in a place that holds the bonds you have forged with people such as your friends and school staff. What next? Almost instantly, disregarding temporal shifts, you are now a newly minted alumnus, a seemingly distant identity for many school-going children.
In our lives, there is at least one (or likely five to six) instances where we are accorded such an honour having left our former place of study. Yet, broadly speaking, you could even be an alumnus of a programme, a society or even a company — Having formerly had a relationship with a group of people, there is an association that now exists between the group and you, both in your eyes and that of others. In an age where connectivity has advanced the building of distinct identities in our societies, are the associations we carry necessarily indispensable? Or may they instead hinder our development in life?
A sense of belonging
As an alumnus, you are now inducted into an alumni network. This network consists of individuals who have gone through the same schooling or working path that you have just completed. Having shared experiences that can be shared over a drink or two fosters a sense of relatability within people, and that may well be the key to the continued survival of these alumni networks . This promotes the growth of a tight-knit community with shared values, which may sometimes provide a safe space for refuge when an individual reconnects with familiar faces.
Additionally, with the interests of the former school or organisation at heart, alumni are often roped in to support the school in a myriad of ways: from organising and supporting events, to mentoring their juniors, and even serving on advisory committees and management boards. Within organisations that have longer and more storied histories, they are more likely to benefit from a larger, more diverse alumni network, which can better support the organisation in multiple ways. In the case of schools, when alumni return to serve in capacities such as teachers and school staff, they are more likely to offer targeted support for students since they are better able to empathise with the shadows of their former selves.
Furthermore, the recognition that one can attain from being an alumnus might also be a transformative factor for some as they climb the corporate ladder in the working world. Apart from being an alumnus, individuals within alumni networks also carry with them vital connections and a wealth of working experience. Thus, it is no wonder why alumni of schools are often recalled to facilitate sharings on higher education and provide career guidance to students from their alma mater. Indeed, connections and relationships are often critical stepping stones that we can utilise to our advantage so as to widen our social circles.
With that, being an alumnus does seem like a privilege one can look forward to attaining, on top of having a chance to give back to their former organisation. Yet, alumni networks across different continents and fields have seen a growing disinterest from new graduates in joining alumni networks. Could this possibly spell the eventual end of alumni networks in the coming future?
Some extra baggage
Indeed, a Strada-Gallup Alumni Survey conducted in 2018 for over five thousand college graduates in the United States of America found that only a startling 9% of graduates with a baccalaureate or higher degree reported that their school’s alumni network had been either ‘helpful’ or ‘very helpful’ in their search for a job, while the vast majority — a staggering 69% —of those surveyed viewed their alumni network as “inconsequential”. This troubling trend clearly portrays an interesting dynamic in evolution: In the past, alumni flock back to their organisation eagerly in hopes of giving back to the organisation that has transformed them and their lives for the better; now, alumni are increasingly viewing themselves as entitled customers who expect to inherit some form of recognition by virtue of their brief acquaintance with alumni who came generations before them.
Closer to home, alumni networks face a separate, thorny trend to contend with: A recent uptick in scandalous episodes involving individuals from their former organisations that have been blown out of proportion. Such acts range from students flushing money down the toilet, to individuals boasting to authorities that individuals from their school are “not gangsters”, and hot mic incidents where parliamentarians have been caught commenting on which schools are “lousy. The list can go on.
A common phenomenon shown is the knee-jerk reaction from members of the public when they read about such episodes: Quickly finding out which organisations these individuals are from. Owing to the associations that these individuals have with the alumni network of their organisation, and vice versa, the incidents unfortunately implicate the standing by sullying the name of the networks, and in turn the organisation itself. Therefore, this may well be a reason why alumni networks may not appeal to new graduates, for such an association may serve as a hindrance, more so than assistance for these promising graduates when they enter into society. Yet, is being an alumnus in Singapore all about being in an exclusive, insensitive and morally aloof group?
In the case of the annual Primary One Registration Exercise, the alumni trump card regularly pulled by parents in hopes of getting their child a good start in the educational rat race is often viewed by other parents who wish to apply to more established schools. The same can be said for a score reduction in national exams by virtue of affiliation with a group of schools. For some, the pent-up rage is directed to the fact that such privileges provide a higher barrier of entry for application in general.
Yet, returning to the government’s insistence that every school is indeed a good school, should parents really be concerned about the quality of education their child receives if the government makes an effort to moderate teaching and learning by introducing Applied Learning Programmes to stretch pupil’s learning, for example?
A firm belief
The arguments have been laid bare. Whether we take part actively and maintain a close relationship with the organisations we come from is a choice we make. Instead of trying to keep our distance whenever something negative occurs, why not attempt to make a difference by supporting the organisations that have made us who we are and help rebuild a stronger identity that reflects our values, on top of those that came before us?
Looking back, by the end of the year, I myself would have been an alumnus of four educational institutions and one external organisation. The relationships and bonds forged in the time I have spent with people I have made may have an impact on my future. However, they have inextricably connected me to the organisations that have undoubtedly shaped my life and personality, so much so that the unhappiness and shame I have experienced as an alumnus is very much overshadowed by the relationships and bonds that I hold dear. In retrospect, the pace at which life moves does not leave time for reflection and gratitude, so why wait for a singular scandal to spark a renewed interest in your alumni network? Will you be an alumni? That is the question.
The author is a proud alumnus of Catholic High School (Primary) and Catholic High School.
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